Long-time Bladworth resident Darryl Mathers died suddenly early Tuesday morning, April 28, 2015 in Bladworth. Darryl was predeceased by his parents, Dan and Ethel Mathers. He is survived by his sister, Dianne Mathers of Kelowna, his nephew Tyson Daoust and his niece Carleen Daoust. Darryl attended school in Bladworth, farmed the family land and later worked for CN for many years in various Saskatchewan locations. He spent the last seventeen years of his working career at Panther Industries of Davidson. Darryl was also well known for his singing and for the musical entertainment service he provided for special events. Darryl had a great many friends in the Bladworth-Davidson area and across the country. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him. A Celebration of Darryl Mathers’ life will be held in the Elks Hall in Bladworth at 2:00 p.m., Monday, May 4. For friends so wishing, memorial donations in memory of Darryl may be directed to the Sask. Heart and Stroke Foundation, Bladworth Elks, Bladworth Hall or to a charity of choice. Hanson’s Funeral Home in care of arrangements.
Clockwise from top right, actors Nicola Classen, Megan Fehr, Taylor Seymour and Lizzy Ettinger act out a scene from “One Giant Leap,” presented by Hanley Composite School on April 18 during a drama festival in Davidson.
By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — Hanley’s drama club took an audience on a trip to the moon in one of the plays featured in a recent high school drama festival in Davidson.
“One Giant Leap” was performed by the students of Hanley Composite School on Saturday, April 18, as one of five plays in the Saskatchewan Drama Association’s Region 6 Drama Festival, hosted by Davidson School on Friday and Saturday.
The only locally-penned play performed in the festival, it told the story of two elderly women banished to the moon in the year 2093 as the start of an experimental colony, and their encounter with the lunar locals they meet there.
One of the women, Patience (Taylor Seymour), meets a friendly alien, Lestock (Lauren Griffin) and decides to take her back home, though her roommate, Zelma (Hannah Fehr), is reluctant to allow the creature in.
The other aliens — Markinch (Nicola Classen), Bulyea (Lizzy Ettinger) and Cupar (Megan Fehr) — then embark on a quest to rescue their missing friend, leading to a confrontation back at the colony.
Throughout the play, the two ladies from Earth long to indulge in the mysterious contraband stimulant they’ve brought with them — later revealed to be tea — but also live in fear of the authoritarian Colonel Say (Emily Crocker), watching them through a two-way telescreen a la 1984.
At 60 minutes, the Hanley play was the longest production of the weekend, and it impressed on virtually every possible level, from the lively performances and clear diction of the actors to the use of fog, lighting and sound effects.
The production made liberal use of recorded music, ranging from classical music to Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon, while the sets depicted both the dark, mysterious world of the moon people and the gleaming, sterile environment of the human colony.
The play was written and directed by Leanne Griffin, who began leading the drama club in Hanley 16 years ago when she was teaching there. Dave Carter served as assistant director and constructed the set.
Hanley’s performance was well-received by both the audience and adjudicators, winning a slew of awards for the cast and crew, and Griffin said she was pleased with the results and with the crowd response.
For the full story, see the April 27 edition of The Davidson Leader.
At left, actors Elena Nykiforuk and Jesselynne Palmer take the “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” approach as they try to escape a pack of zombies in a scene from “10 Ways to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse.”
By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — A weekend of drama was enjoyed at Davidson School as five one-act plays were presented in a high school festival.
Davidson hosted students from Hanley, Rosetown and Unity in the Saskatchewan Drama Association’s Region 6 Drama Festival on Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18.
Arlene Low, who served as festival host co-ordinator, said the students did a terrific job of playing host to their competitors over the course of the festival.
“They welcomed the other schools, socialized, made new friends,” she said. “Everybody did their part to make it a successful and welcoming weekend.”
The plays were presented in two sessions, with an attendance of roughly 100 people at each session.
The festival began on Friday evening as Davidson’s senior drama club presented “THS PHNE 2.0: The Next Generation,” followed by Rosetown Central High School’s “Pressure” and Unity Composite High School’s “Desperate Housewives of Shakespeare.”
On Saturday afternoon, two more plays were presented: “One Giant Leap” by Hanley Composite School, and “10 Ways to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse,” presented by Davidson’s junior drama club.
Serving as adjudicators were Joy Falk, a teacher in the Prairie South School Division with a background in theatre studies and arts education, and Bill Shiers, a former Saskatchewan Drama Association board member and director now based in Jacksonville, Fla.
Shiers was the front of house adjudicator, watching all that transpired onstage, while Falk kept an eye on all the backstage action.
Following their performances, each group was given the opportunity for a workshop with the adjudicators, who offered their praise and criticism, often having the students recreate certain scenes with a few changes.
An awards banquet concluded the festival on Saturday afternoon. While all of the plays were honoured with awards, Rosetown’s “Pressure” was selected the best overall production and will go on to compete in the provincial festival, coming up from May 7 to 9 at the University of Regina’s theatre department.
For the full story, check out the April 27 edition of The Davidson Leader.
This photo provides a close-up view of the crumbling pavement on Highway 354, located east and south of the village of Dilke.
By Joel van der Veen
DILKE — Highway 354 near Dilke was the winner of a dubious honour last week.
The weather-beaten road took first place in CAA Saskatchewan’s annual list of the Top Ten Worst Roads in the province, as selected by online voters.
Pictures submitted to CAA’s website show a deteriorating road with multiple patches of bulging, crumbling pavement, some of them marked with small red diamond signs.
The provincial highway runs east of Dilke and then south towards Bethune, ending at its intersection with Highway 11.
Colleen Duesing, who serves as village administrator, confirmed that the road is in “seriously bad” shape, blaming its current condition on the heavy rain from last summer.
Duesing said that two “seriously heavy rain events” — one at the end of June, and the other on August 16 — last year took their toll on the road.
“Both times we received over six inches of rain,” she said. “It was flooded in about three or four areas.”
Detours were put in place until the water could be pumped away, but the ground remained heavily saturated, and when the ground froze during the winter, the water pushed upwards, resulting in cracked surfaces.
“It’s all weather-related,” said Duesing, adding that the highway sees heavy daily use from commuters and is also used by travellers heading to resort areas.
The village also has had to cope with severe watermain breaks this year. Excavators had to dig through nine feet of frozen ground to uncover the damaged mains.
Christine Niemczyk, CAA Saskatchewan’s director of corporate communications and public relations, said the Worst Roads campaign attracted interest and nominations from across the province.
More than 260 roads and highways, including residential streets, were nominated this year.
The criteria for a “worst road” include a state of general disrepair with potholes or cracks, poor signage or congestion, or if the road is too narrow for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists to share safely.
Asked whether the campaign had resulted in roads getting repaired or improved, Niemczyk said CAA doesn’t track that information, but noted that some roads — like Highway 155 near La Loche — have made the top 10 multiple years in a row.
“We’re offering a resource, a tool, a mechanism,” she said, explaining that the campaign helps to put a spotlight on road conditions in the province that are troublesome or even dangerous.
At the campaign’s end, she added, the survey results are made available to the appropriate government bodies.
All of the Top 10 roads from this year’s poll were provincial highways, including roads near Val Marie, Silton, Coronach, Bulyea, Gravelbourg, Springside, Vonda, Fife Lake and La Loche.
The campaign ran between March 25 and April 17 and attracted a total of 4,556 votes. CAA Saskatchewan has held the campaign annually since 2012.
“A star that burns twice as bright, burns half as long.”
Joan Marie Binder was born August 26, 1958 in Craik and passed away April 1, 2015 with loved ones by her side at the Davidson Health Centre.
She is survived by her loving husband Kevin and their furkids Rosie, Muffin, Misty, Jam and Molly; Joan’s father Chris Heathcote; brother Grant Heathcote; sisters: Christine (John) Boyd; Kathaleen (Doug) Snider; Jean (Lyle) Hannan; Helen (Webb) Lee; Joan’s father-in-law Gary Binder, Richard Munroe; mother-in-law Lois (Craig) Menzie; sisters-in-law: Karen (Grant) Murray; Jodi Binder; nephews: Jason (Trish) Boyd; Rick (Jolene) Roberge; Chandler, Grayson and Steele Heathcote; Adam and Chris Lee; Brent Murray; nieces: Julie (Jason) Bellina; Terryl (Justin) Way; Kim (Steve) Hart; Maggie and Hannah Lee; Patricia, Heather and Kristine Murray; numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, great-nieces and nephews, and other family members.
Joan was predeceased by her mother Muriel Heathcote.
Funeral services were held at Craik Legion Hall on April 8, 2015.
Interment will be held at a later date at Craik Cemetery.
Gladys Lillian Kergen passed away peacefully on Friday, March 6, 2015 at the Davidson Health Centre at the age of 83.
Gladys was born in Davidson on Sept. 7, 1931 to Jim and Selina Mercier along with her brother Sid and sister Marlene.
Gladys married the love of her life, Paul on June 9, 1956 and together they raised three children, Brad, Pat and Sid. Gladys had 10 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren who she absolutely adored. When she passed away the family recalled many wonderful memories of time spent with grandma and grandpa at the farm. The coffee pot was always on for friends and family and food was abundant. Grandma made the best macaroni and cheese, cinnamon toast and had the best snack cupboard ever. Summer days were spent playing outside (but not on the bales!), riding horses and driving motorbikes. There was never a shortage of cousins to play dress-up or have sleepovers with at the farm.
Gladys defined what it was to be a grandma and being on the receiving end of that kind of love was something exceptional. Her face lit up whenever her great-grandchildren visited and she loved them dearly. She will be loved and missed everyday.
The celebration of Gladys’s life was held Tuesday, April 7 at 11:00 a.m. at the Sacred Heart Parish with Father Joseph Gyim-Austin officiating. The choir was in attendance with soloist Karen Reich singing Ave Maria. Pallbearers were grandsons Andrew, Jarrett, Dustin, Billy, Adrian and Nic. A tribute was written and read by granddaughter Kandra Kergen who shared memories of Gladys and what she meant to each and every one of us who shared in her life.
Gladys is survived by her family: son Brad (Kathy) and family Kandra (A-Jay Buhay), Paige (Daris) Rink and Ryan; daughter Pat (Stuart) Dougan and family Erin (Billy) Gust and children Will, Eva and Georgia, Andrew and Jarrett (Chandra); son Sid (Charlene) and family Shayla (Adrian Diakow) and children Brooklyn, Nevan, Dawson and Ryden, Michelle (Marc Valois), Ashley (Nic) DeGoede and children Hannah and Ava, Dustin (Kalee Davis) and daughter Emma. Gladys is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews and other family members.
Gladys was predeceased by her husband Paul, her parents Jim and Selina Mercier, brother Sid and sister Marlene and a granddaughter Tia Avery Kergen as well as other family members.
For friends so wishing, memorials in memory of Gladys may be directed to the Davidson Swimming Pool (Town of Davidson) or to the Health Centre Activity Fund (Heartland Health Region) or to a charity of your choice.
Interment was at the Davidson Cemetery and arrangements entrusted to Hanson’s Funeral Home.
